“St. Peter, as prince of the apostles, is pre-eminently the patron for an apostolic organisation. He was the first Pope, but stands for all the illustrious line of Pontiffs, and for the present Holy Father. In invoking St. Peter, we express once again a Legion’s loyalty to Rome, the centre of our faith, the source of authority, discipline, unity.” (Decision of the Legion placing St. Peter’s name in the list of invocations.)

St. John The Baptist is more intimately bound up with the devotional scheme of the Legion than any of its other patrons, with the exception of St. Joseph. (a) He was the type of all legionaries, that is, a forerunner of the Lord, going before him to prepare his way and make straight his paths.

“Mary is the general of the armies of God. The angels form the most glorious troops of her who is terrible as an army set in battle array!” (Boudon: The Angels.)

From the first, the angels were invoked in the Legion prayers. Every legionary, active and auxiliary, has a guardian angel who fights blow for blow at his side.

In some of the liturgies St. Gabriel and St. Michael are jointly hailed as: champions and princes, leaders of the heavenly army; captains of the angels; servants of the divine glory; guardians and guides of human creatures. St. Gabriel is the Angel of the Annunciation.

“Although the prince of all the heavenly court, St. Michael is the most zealous in honouring Mary and causing her to be honoured, while he waits always in expectation that he may have the honour to go at her bidding to render service to some one of her servants.” (St. Augustine)

No saint has played a greater part in the development of the Legion than he. The handbook is full of his spirit. The prayers re-echo his very words. He is really the tutor of the Legion: thus invocation is due to him by the Legion almost as a matter of moral obligation.  He was canonised on 20 July, 1947, and his feast occurs on 28 April.

That evening I received a message on my answering machine to call this very lady. After a short prayer I cautiously returned her call. She had called the Parish Priest and he had listened to her story and gave her my phone number. She quietly related what was happening behind that door we knocked on for Jesus and Mary.

Designated in the Gospel as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” St. John appears therein as the model of devotion to the Sacred Heart. Faithful to the end, he clung to that Heart till he saw it stilled and pierced in death. Afterwards, he is manifested as the model of devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

What has the Legion of Mary to Offer to Young People ?

The question is often asked "what has the Legion to offer to young people?" The simple answer which could be given is -a great start in life - a great basis for a happy and fulfilled existence. Most people who have been in the Legion of Mary even for a short time in their youth, tend not to forget the happy experience, even when other events or distractions have crowded membership out of their lives. However, I would tend to pin-point the following special advantages.

Increase in their own Faith with an apostolic attitude to the needs of others

The whole Legion system is based on the main doctrines of the Church, which is the Mass, the Eucharist, the love of God and our neighbour, the special place of Our Lady and a practical knowledge of the Mystical Body of Christ. At each successive meeting the members are taught through the Spiritual Reading, the Allocutio and the reports, to learn to live the practice of these doctrines. Moreover, conviction of the value of their own Faith is very much strengthened by their being taught to be ready to defend the Faith and to stand up and be counted where necessary, and to be anxious about the spiritual welfare of those around them, especially their own age group.

 As Father Aedan McGrath frequently stated when he worked with the Irish in Britain, "the surest way to keep one's own Faith is to be actively interested in the Faith of others." True, it can be argued that such an interest can exist without membership of the Legion or any organisation. However, a weekly meeting with a weekly work obligation for which we will be asked to render an account is for most of us the easier way. In fact, most of us could say that we did little for the Church on any regular basis before we joined the Legion and it is likely we would return to this state were we to leave it.

The devotional aspect of the Legion is very important for young legionaries as otherwise they will inevitably drift towards purely social work. A working knowledge of De Montfort's True Devotion is perfectly within the capabilities of young people.

In the Legion we make real friends and are influenced by them

The second benefit may at first seem a strange one, but long experience has shown this to be a fact and well worth mentioning. Anyone of any age who has been in the organisation for any length of time will tell that one of the greatest benefits of membership is that one makes not just friends but sincere friend- ships. Strangely enough, even where membership does not continue, people who have met in the Legion tend to remain friends after leaving. Young people are no different. Healthy friendships develop and anyone who has dealings with the youth of today will have no doubt about the importance of making the right type of friends at an early age. Friendships formed by meeting weekly will be strong ones, but friendships made by people who are being formed in the same kind of mould cannot but provide the support necessary for the great adverse pressures put on the young in modem times.

Something will be tackled by some brave young person and will be readily copied by others, for this is the way in reverse that harm is done to the weaker ones of our society.

Training in Discipline and Relating well to others

There are many who would subscribe to the view that young people today are hungry for discipline which is not too often found in their lives. The Legion of Mary offers in its system a firm, but gentle discipline which, although stringent enough seems to pose no problem in membership. On the other hand, the system does give great training in courage and relating well to others. Time and time again, very ordinary young people will be found to compile and give a report on some meeting or happening, with an expertise far beyond what would normally be expected of them. The Legion values and encourages all contributions according to the members capabilities and experience. Countless legionaries have testified that their Legion training helped them considerably to face interviews, to cope well with their job or profession and in many ways helped them a lot in their day-to-day life. Many have gone on to enter Seminaries and the Religious life. The net result seems to be that in return for their generous commitment of some of their free time working for the Church on a regular basis, young legionaries receive a great help in character building and an opportunity to base their Faith on a solid and apostolic foundation.

Prayer with Action

In the Legion’s prayers, St. Joseph’s name follows the invocations to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, as he ranks next to them in the Court of Heaven. He was head of the Holy Family, fulfilling in regard to Jesus and Mary a primary and altogether special part.